The Committee received a report presenting the 2018/19 Quarter 3 (October - December 2018) performance report for the Wirral Plan Pledges under the remit of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  The performance report, which was included as an Appendix to the submitted report, provided a description of progress in Quarter 3 as well as providing available data in relation to a range of outcome indicators and supporting measures. 

The performance report contained details of the progress made, and overviews of that progress from the Lead Cabinet Member, in respect of individual measures being pursued with regard to the following Wirral Plan Pledges pertinent to the Committee - 

·  Children are Ready for School;

·  Young People are Ready for Work and Adulthood;

·  Vulnerable Children Reach their Full Potential;

·  People with Disabilities Live Independent Lives; and

·  Zero Tolerance to Domestic Violence.

The Director for Children presented the performance report and invited comment from Members on it’s content.

The worsening trend in the percentage of women booked to access professional maternity services on or before 12+6 weeks gestation was raised.  The Director noted that the figures gave the impression that women were not engaged, but whether this was true was queried.  It may be that the wrong measure was being used and this issue required a deeper understanding.

Worsening trends in several measures relating to domestic violence were raised.  The Director advised of discussions on these points and of the need to get a better understanding of the data.  While the data suggested a greater prevalence, was it actually a case of increased detection?  A Member commented that nothing seemed to have progressed in respect of domestic violence issues, and that a progress report was required to advise more fully on such matters.  The Chair noted that while the Committee had recently received a report, questions still remained.  A report submission or a workshop session could be added to the Committee work programme to seek to understand the issues, the data and the effectiveness of the Council’s response.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the report be noted;

(2)  the approach towards the consideration of domestic violence issues within the Committee work programme be discussed further by the Chair and Party Spokespersons.